Assetz bolsters Scottish team with Bank of Scotland’s Ian Craig

ASSETZ Capital has hired former Bank of Scotland relationship director Ian Craig (pictured) to help boost its business in Scotland.

The peer-to-peer business lender said on Monday that Craig will be based in the Edinburgh office, where he will be responsible for helping local Scottish businesses acquire finance and ensuring that the process runs seamlessly.

Assetz’ new regional relationship director previously worked in the Scottish SME Banking team for Bank of Scotland, where he managed business client relationships across all sectors, arranging funding packages to help customers deliver their strategic goals.

The appointment comes as Assetz continues its growth in Scotland, with an aim to become the second largest alternative finance lender in the country.

“Joining Assetz Capital, a dynamic and leading business in the P2P industry, is a really exciting step for me,” said Craig.

“Together with the other members of the Scotland team, I’ll work to grow Assetz Capital’s already impressive presence in the region, alerting SMEs to the benefits of P2P lending and guiding them through the lending process.”

“With over 50 per cent of our green energy loans portfolio generated in Scotland, the region holds special value to us as a business, our milestones and our core values of sustainability,” said chief executive Stuart Law. “We’re thrilled to have Ian as part of the team – his wealth of experience and local knowledge makes him the perfect hire to continue our exponential growth in Scotland.”

Assetz said last month that it is approaching £300 of total lending to businesses and expects to lend the same amount this calendar year. It said revenues for the financial year from April 2016 to March 2017 were more than £10m and said its pre-tax profit was a “seven figure sum.”